


No One Else

by TheShieldAss



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: But also an asshole, But also stubborn, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, F/M, He sets them up, M/M, Natasha Romanov & Bucky Barnes friendship, Natasha Romanov is a Queen, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Or tries, Post-Canon, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Sam Wilson is a Gift, Sam Wilson is a Saint, She's the best, Some Humor, Some Plot, Some angst, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson Friendship, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Has Issues, Steve Rogers-centric, Steve doesn't know what he feels, Steve is Confused, Steve is blonde, Steve is kinda dumb, Steve thinks Bucky and Natasha are flirting, Stubborn Steve, that's a lot of tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-21 17:34:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8254480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShieldAss/pseuds/TheShieldAss
Summary: “There’s something else,” he added delicately. Something else that had been bugging him since he had seen Bucky and Natasha talking with each other and being so comfortable with each other last night.“What is it?”“I think that Buck and Nat might be interested in each other.”There. He said it.Steve thinks Bucky and Natasha would make a kickass couple. He's not wrong though. But he's definitely not right.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys here's a new one! Enjoy.  
> Special thanks to Asukachan07 . I wouldn't have been able to do it without you! Thank you for your help and patience!! :)

**OH YES, I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING**

Steve felt very hot under his tight suit. It had been specifically selected by Natasha since _it sits snugly on your broad shoulders Rogers, stop whining and put it on and give the ladies in the party something to talk about._

He didn’t even want to come to this party, but it was hosted by T’Challa and he didn’t want to disappoint or say no to the person who had so graciously put a roof over their head and had harbored them- the international fugitives. So, with good grace; him, Natasha, Sam, Wanda, Clint, Scott and Bucky had put on their best smiles and were now mingling with the other guests, who were mostly Wakandan.

None of the others though, were having a problem with the mingling, except Steve. Wanda was talking to a few girls of her own age, not boys thank you very much; Clint and Scott were talking to T’Challa. Sam was with Steve, taking over whenever he felt that Steve was putting his foot where his mouth was, like the good friend he was. And Natasha and Bucky were the centre of attention, charming everyone around them. Steve wasn’t even surprised, Bucky had always been a people person since they were kids, and he felt happy seeing him interacting with other people. And Natasha; or at least the Black Widow was… she _was_ a charmer. It was her job. That’s how she worked.

The party was great though, it was nothing like the parties Tony might’ve hosted, which _always_ had a shit ton of booze, and _always_ ended in him getting himself and everyone around him drunk. Well not _everyone_ , but most people.

The place was mostly illuminated by candles which adorned every surface. There were candles everywhere in the wide and airy hall. Even the chandeliers on the ceiling held candles, giving the whole room a yellowish glow. It was bright and dim at the same time. The walls of the room had windows which held the beautiful Wakandan landscape. The moon was low in the sky. It was one of the most beautiful sights that Steve had ever seen in his life, and he had seen a _lot_. The whole atmosphere was very pleasant and there was a low buzzing of the voices of the people talking in his ears.

After a few more weird conversations and awkward pauses, Steve’s eyes suddenly zeroed in on a Bucky and Natasha. They were standing together, _talking_.

 _Bucky and Natasha didn’t talk to each other._ In fact, they had tried to kill each other every time they had been five feet from each other. Steve thought that Bucky was scared of Natasha, and Natasha was scared of Bucky.

But right now they were having a totally civil conversation and weren’t trying to punch or kick or shoot each other.

“Seriously Romanov, that thigh scissor move is great and all; but it can be easily countered. I’ve done it three times now.”

“Easy for you, Barnes. No one has been able to break it except you. Not even Steve.”

“Yeah well Steve is all brawns, no brains,” Bucky, like the jerk he was, scoffed. Steve felt _very_ insulted. _I’m considered to be one of the greatest tactical mind in the world,_ he wanted to remind Buck. But he wanted to hear conversation more of their conversation. So, he let Bucky continue.

“Why do you even keep using it?”

“The KGB told us that it was the only thing that would work on you. You were very popular with them”

“KGB had outdated information on me.”

“I _know_ that.”

“If you knew that, that why didn’t you try to break my hold on you the last time I tried to kill you? You could’ve done it easily!”

“If I _had_ tried to get out of your hold, _you_ would’ve died. And I didn’t want to be the one responsible for your death.”

“That right?” Bucky looked sheepish and a little at a loss for words, which was a rare case for him; from what Steve knew. Bucky _always_ knew what to say, especially when he was talking to a woman. He had always been the ladies-man. He had been very popular with the women back in Brooklyn before the war.

And Natasha was… well she was a woman. A woman who was looking perfection personified today, in all her glory.

The dim lighting of the place made her face almost glow. Her green eyes were in great contrast with the rest of herself. She was in a sleeveless  red dress, which fit her like a second skin The crimson of her dress _should’ve_ clashed with her hair, but somehow the artist in Steve judged that it didn’t. It actually complimented her darker curls, which had been piled up in a bun, showing off the perfect arch of her neck. Her lips were painted blood red, which made Steve's spine tingle. It was the same shade that Peggy used to wear. Her ears were glamorized by golden loops which flirted with her bare shoulder.She was wearing heels which almost made her as tall as Bucky. But Steve knew that her shoes could also be used to stab people. Steve had seen her use her heels to kill a HYDRA soldier and it hadn’t been a pleasant experience for him, or the person who had been stabbed. In fact, he had never been more terrified of her. Even right now, Steve knew that Natasha had at least four weapons with her, not counting the knives; because _knives are not weapons, they’re toys Rogers_.

But she looked like she had come to enjoy the party, not fight if the situation demanded. With her perfect posture and one of her perfect eyebrows arched, she probably gave an inferiority complex to each and every other woman in the room. People were enchanted by her. Everyone had their eyes on her. And she had her eyes on each and every one of them.

She looked beautiful, alluring, radiant, dazzling and _divine_ and many more words that Steve’s vocabulary did not contain. And _dangerous_. She was the Black Widow and Natasha at the same time.

And the artist in him wanted to sketch Natasha _so bad._

Well, he _always_ wanted to sketch Natasha. She was _glorious_. And _so beautiful_.

Natasha _was_ beautiful. And she was his _friend_. There was no harm in complimenting a friend in his mind, right? He had artistic appreciation for her beauty.

“Well, wanna spar tomorrow?” Natasha asked Bucky, filling in the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them.

“I’d love to! I can teach you a few things that I’ve picked up since being HYDRA’s cyborg,” Bucky seemed very excited.

Steve didn’t want to hear Bucky joke about the tortures he had been inflicted while in the hands of HYDRA. It made Steve's blood boil. However, he supposed it was good for Bucky, and for his recovery. He hadn’t been doing very well after Siberia. No one would have.

Well, no one except Nat. She seemed kinda happy after all of the team had been reunited in Wakanda. And right now, she seemed kind of chummy with Bucky.

That was good. Great even. Two of the people he held dearest in this world were bonding. Unlike Bucky and Sam, who bitched and snarked at each other at every possible moment.

Steve just wanted all of his friends to get along.

Right now, it looked like Bucky and Natasha _would_ get along very well.

It was awesome; really really awesome.

_Excellent._

Bucky and Nat were bonding over killing each other.

It was more than he could ever ask for.

Also, he should stop listening to their conversation. But super- hearing was a bitch; he really couldn’t stop listening to them; he told himself. He could ignore it, but he didn’t really want to.

“ _Please_ Barnes,” Natasha mocked him. “I beat the shit out of you seven years ago. I think that I can manage it again.”

“Oh Romanoff, I’d like to see you try,” Buck’s voice had a teasing edge now. He was grinning and his eyes were shining with excitement.

Natasha just smiled at him sweetly. Steve knew that that look was usually followed by the murder of the person at whom the smile had been directed.

She had almost once looked at him like that. Steve shuddered internally at that memory.

He should _really_ stop eavesdropping on their conversation.

“See you tomorrow Barnes; get ready to get your ass kicked.”

“You know what Romanov; call me Bucky.”

“That’s a child’s name. I’m not calling you that.”

“Darling, you can call me whatever you want,” Bucky said waggling his eyebrows.

 _What the fuck_? Was Bucky using one of his one-liners? They were outdated now. Steve remembered Bucky using something similar to one of his girlfriends when they were younger. They wouldn’t really work on Nat; she wasn’t interested in dating anyone.

Steve should’ve _really_ stopped listening to them.

“We’ll see about that,” with that, Natasha caught someone’s eye and sauntered off towards them. Bucky was staring at her retreating form.

How could he not? Natasha commandeered attention wherever she went, Steve had learned that the first time he had met her and talked to her. Now Bucky was probably feeling the same thing. Steve knew the impact Natasha had on people.

And he didn’t realize that he had been staring at them.

“What the hell Steve? At least pay attention when people are talking to you! Where the hell did your manners go? You’ve clearly been influenced by this century,” Sam, whom Steve had forgotten about, hissed at him.

“I _was_ paying attention Sam.”

“Yeah clearly you were. Then why were you staring over there?”

“Where?”

Sam looked offended.

“You know where.”

Steve knew.

Why had Bucky been flirting with Natasha? Why hadn’t Natasha flirted _back_ , she usually out-flirted anyone who tried to flirt with her.

Steve remembered the first time they had met Sam. Sam had flirted with Natasha and she had flirted back. It was how she figured people out.

 _Usually, you can figure out the weaknesses of people when they’re uncomfortable, or when they feel like they’re the centre of attention. When a pretty girl flirts with a dude, they feel like kings and you can easily take them down_ , she had once told him.

Steve had wanted to ask if she had figured out his weaknesses when she had met him the first time. But Natasha was giving him her lessons from her Spy-BookTM, and he hadn’t wanted to interfere.

Maybe he was reading too much between the lines.

 _Don’t stress out your brain so much Rogers, sometimes things just are;_ she had once told him during one of his brooding sessions, as she liked to call it.

But he wouldn’t be Steve Rogers if he listened to people around him. Bucky, Natasha, Sam and even his mother and Peggy had been familiar with his pigheadedness. And they usually supported it, albeit reluctantly.

It wasn’t pigheadedness, it was more of standing up for himself, Steve corrected himself.

 _Yeah right Rogers,_ Natasha might’ve belittled his correction if he had told her.

So, Bucky and Natasha were sparring tomorrow. This he had to see. And he had a plan. After all, he _was_ the Man with the Plan TM.

Sam was now glaring at him.

“What?” Steve asked.

“I don’t even know why I put up with you,” he grumbled in reply.

** \---------- **

The next day, Steve went out for his morning run. Sam didn’t join him; he was still pissed off about last night, even though Steve hadn’t done _anything_.

 _I swear one of these days I’m gonna make friends with people who appreciate me,_ Sam had told him in fake annoyance.

Steve did appreciate Sam, and he told him so _very_ often.

He went to the gym after he started breaking out a sweat. He didn’t want to exhaust all of his energy before working out the weights.

He was only there to work out. He needed to work on his abdominal muscles, _abs like the kids called it these days_.

 _You’re a funny old man Rogers,_ Natasha would say, if she were with him _._

Also, he hadn’t lifted weights in forever. He wanted to see if he could still lift everything with only one hand.

He had no other interests. He was _only_ there to work out.

 _You’re a terrible liar,_ Natasha had scoffed at him, after Fury’s ‘death’.

As he was nearing the gym, he could hear laughing voices. It was Buck and Nat. _Why were they laughing?_

Not that he had any problems with his friends laughing. Quite the opposite; he fully supported it. But why were they laughing when they were supposed to be fighting?

He walked faster, wanting to join in on the jokes and fun.

The gym was a wide elliptical room, with the brightest lights above him and the whitest walls surrounding him. Even the tiled floor was white. It was almost blinding, and Steve had to blink a few times to get adjusted with the brightness inside the room. An unused boxing ring occupied the center of the room. The training mats were closer to the entrance near him, whereas all the the machinery was on the other end of the room. It was very well equipped, even better than the one they had back in New York in the Avengers Facility.

Nat and Bucky were on the opposite ends of one of the training mats.

Natasha’s hair, which she had been growing out, was tied back. So was Bucky’s. They both wore tank tops, and shorts. Each looked focused and the other, but Steve knew that it didn’t mean that they didn’t know that he was standing nearby. The both held a defensive stance, and painted a very similar picture. After all they were trained to be Cold-Blooded and Lifeless AssassinsTM for Mother RussiaTM.

After a moment,they squared off simultaneously.

“Ready?” Buck asked.

‘You bet your puny ass,” Natasha replied. She wasn’t above trash-talking.

He threw a punch in response, and she dodged it. She threw a kick, using less energy that Steve knew she had; probably to feel his reactions. Bucky dodged, and caught her leg with his metal-arm. She threw a real punch this time and then jabbed his neck again, making Bucky grunt. Using his moment of distraction, she used his metal arm as leverage, like Steve had seen her do many times with his shield and jumped away from him.

They were on the opposite ends of the mat again. Neither of them was exerted though.

And Steve was mesmerized. It was rare for him, or a person to see two skilled fighters like them spar without holding back. As he took notes of their moves in his head, he realised that their fighting styles were eerily similar. _Huh._

Bucky launched his attack again, a set of punches that held Natasha back. She managed to sneak a kick to his balls, which _had_ to hurt.  She threw a few more kicks, still not using her full force, and Bucky stepped back, giving her room.

They eventually settled into an easy rhythm. It was like a dance, a very well-choreographed and well-practiced dance.

Natasha gave Bucky a good kick on his knees, and ducked down to give him another great set of punches on his chest, before sweeping him down with her legs. And he fell down.

 _The biggest ones fall down the hardest Steve,_ she had told him once.

Natasha took advantage of Bucky’s fall, wrapping her legs around his middle; and at the same time she forced his hands behind him, the real and the metal one, which had been made of the Vibranium of Wakanda, courtesy T’Challa, the Black Panther, the Wise and Noble King of Wakanda.. Bucky fell down, with Natasha still on him, her legs wrapped securely around him and probably cutting of his circulation.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, and Steve was mesmerized watching Natasha move.

Bucky struggled, but he was not able to move, super-strength be damned.

Steve had his eyes wide open; he had never seen Natasha fight so _aggressively_ , even when it had been a life or death situation.

It was _very_ impressive, and he felt a little light headed, he didn’t know why.

Natasha had her teeth bared; and she looked feral, _ethereal_.

“Yield, you lost James,” she crowed, her voice excited, a complete one eighty from the lethal  image she was presenting.

Also, it was _James_ now? Wasn’t it Barnes just yesterday? What the hell had happened in the span of ten hours to change that?

What had Bucky done that made Natasha call him by his name? It had taken her _months_ to call Steve by his name. Even now, sometimes she called him _Rogers_.

“Alright, alright calm down Natalia,” Bucky said with an easy grin. “You won.”

_Natalia?_

_What the hell???_

“Damn right I did.”

“You wanna lemmego now? Oh hey Stevie,” Bucky finally acknowledged him, as if he hadn’t known about him standing there since the beginning.

Steve didn’t respond. He was too busy thinking. Still, he gave Bucky an easy smile.

 _It’s always better to not say anything than say something that’ll harm you later, Rogers;_ Natasha’s voice said in his head.

Suddenly he realised that Natasha’s voice was _always_ in his head. When she wasn’t with him, Steve always thought of what _Natasha_ would say if she were with him. Her low teasing voice was always present in his mind.

 _Ten points to Gryffindor for that observation. It means something now, doesn’t it Rogers_ , Natasha commented dryly in his head.

What was going on? What was _happening_? What did it mean?

“Oh hey Steve,” the real Natasha with her real voice said, as if _she_ hadn’t noticed him observing them since the beginning. “I kicked your best friend’s ass.”

“Only _once_ Steve,” Bucky interrupted before Steve could say anything.

“Let’s go again then.”

“Your death Romanov.”

Natasha leaped off of Bucky, who stood up and gave her a grin. Not a fake one, a real grin that Steve himself had seen on his face a very few times after getting him back.

And they started sparring again, probably forgetting that Steve was standing next to them. Well not forgetting, more like ignoring the fact that he was right there.

It did _wonderful_ things to his self-worth.

Well, okay.

He could identify a dismissal when he saw one, it was even easier when it was directed towards him.

Steve had had enough. He didn’t want to interrupt Bucky and Nat in what was clearly a _private_ match. And clearly they didn’t want to be interrupted.

It made him angry, he didn’t know why.

And an angry Steve Rogers always wanted to punch stuff. It’s how he figured stuff out.

It was how he figured out his problems.

 _Do you really wanna punch your way out of this one,_ Natasha had asked him, only a few weeks back.

Of course he wanted to punch. If it was up to him, he’d _always_ punch his way out.

Thinking about the Natasha in his head made him even angrier than thinking about the real Natasha who was sparring right now with Bucky. And he wanted to punch something-someone so bad.

But there were no bad guys around. As he looked around the room, he spotted a few punching bags lying innocently.

_Perfect._

He huffed and picked one up and hung it on the peg nearby. He was far enough from Bucky and Natasha that if he focused hard, he could ignore their groaning and grunting and their words and their laughs.

That punching bag was so gonna get it today.

_Wow, old man Rogers made an innuendo, scandalous!_

He ignored the living-in-his-brains-and-making-his-life-difficult-Natasha and started punching the poor bag.

Bucky and Natasha were happy sparring together and he was happy destroying the punching bag. He was happy for his friends. Bucky looked comfortable with Natasha and Natasha now seemed comfortable with Bucky.

He didn’t know how muchtime had passed, and how many bags he had destroyed, but he _did_ register Natasha and Bucky saying his goodbyes and talking about him going in his ‘zone’.

Thankfully, being in the ‘zone’ silenced his thoughts.

He just grunted in reply and they left the gym, leaving him alone.

 _Excellent parallelism_ , he congratulated himself.

Natasha said something in his head, but he ignored it.

Steve honestly _loved_ punching stuff. It was somewhat cathartic for him and comforting. He started spacing out again.

After being thawed back to life afew years ago; all the aggression, all the frustration, all the grief and pain Steve felt had been taken out on punching bags. It was always better for him to feel angry rather than to feel hurt, or sad, or depressed. These punching bags had been the outlet for allof his dark thoughts. The psychiatrist that SHIELD had assigned him had called it unhealthy, but she also didn’t know Steve and didn’t know how he functioned nor could she understand him, no matter that she was one of the best in her field.

When Steve was younger, when he didn’t have Erskine’s serum flowing in his veins, whenever someone doubted him, or had made fun of him, or were being bullies, Steve had always showed them the power of his right hook.

His mother had been the first person to teach him how to punch. She had been a nurse, but she had also seen many too many people being killed in the streets to not take precautions.

 _The world’s not a safe place Stevie, even more for good boys like you. You gotta learn how to punch, you gotta stand your ground for good people and yourself;_ she had told him firmly once. _You may be small baby, but that does not mean that you’re weak._

Later, when Erskine had picked him, when he had become a soldier, Peggy had taught him more hand-to-hand combat moves.

 _You and me Steve, we won’t ever be taken seriously unless we show them what we’re capable of. We will always need to prove ourselves to the world_ , the female agent had told him as she taught him how to fight. _Like a small person Steve , they won’t ever expect it from a big person like you._

And then, after he had woken up in the twenty-first century, Natasha had honed his fighting skills, After the Chitauri Invasion, when he had partnered up with her.

 _Everyone can throw a punch Rogers; it’s how you throw the punch that matters. Most of the times a well placed and well timed punch is always better than a brutal but mindless one._ Whenever he and Natasha had sparred before, she always took him down in seconds. They were almost evenly matched now, but it had taken a lot of kicks and flips and chokeholds from Natasha’s side, and lot of pain on his side for them to come where they were now. When Steve had pinned her for the first time, she had said with a little bit of pride that Steve could recognize in her voice; _you fought with technique and used my small size against me, that’s why you were able to pin me down Steve_. That was the first time she had called him _Steve_ instead of Rogers or Cap.

These three women had shaped his life, had changed the way he took on the world- in different yet so very similar ways. And they were so similar, yet so different. And Steve might’ve not been the Steve he was today if it wasn’t for them.

One punching bag later, someone whispered very close in his left ear.

“Hiya Cap! You seem angry. You doing your own version of Hulk-smash?”

Steve let out a very undignified grunt (not a shriek) and missed his punch, the momentum almost bringing him down before a set of hands caught him. He turned over to scowl at the offending and interrupting person.

“Jesus Christ! Clint! What the hell! What if I had punched you! You could’ve died,” he growled.

“Please Cap, gimme some credit, I would’ve ducked,” the man in response grinned cheerily; the polar opposite of what Steve was feeling right now. Clint’s hands were still supporting him. “Lemme go,” Steve snarled.

The hands around him suddenly disappeared, letting gravity do its work and send Steve tumbling down before he caught himself and straightened up. He glared at Clint. “It wasn’t funny.”

Clint, like an asshole, snickered, before responding, “It kinda was; a grown ass man losing his footing because he was scared.”

Steve deflated. He sighed before saying, “It was. And for the record, I wasn’t scared, I just was shocked”.

“It’s okay. Everyone has off days. I’m not judging.”

“You shouldn’t. I’m Captain America.”

“Alright,” Clint said. “So tell me then _Captain America_ , what’s got your Spangles in Tangles?”

“That was _terrible_ ,” Steve groaned, and suddenly he didn’t feel angry anymore after Clint’s terrible joke.

He just grinned.

After a pause, Steve carefully weighed his words. “It’s just that Bucky and Nat are getting along very well.”

“And that’s a bad thing because…?” Clint asked him.

“It’s not; it’s just that I think that they are getting along better than they get along with me. You know Natasha best of all of us; and you know Bucky, at least you know that he’s very similar to Natasha.”

“Dude no, I don’t know _anything_ about your friend, but I can tell you about Natasha. No one can take the place you have in her world. You’re Steve Rogers, and there’s a reason why Natasha is so comfortablewith you. She likes you a lot.No one else can be what you are to her.”

Steve had probably known what Clint would have said before he even said the words. He had just needed someone to say it out loud. And Clint, even though he was sometimes obnoxious, was very perceptive. And he knew Natasha like no one else.

Therefore, Clint’s words made him feel better instantaneously

“I guess that you’re right.”

“Of course I am. I’m Hawkeye. Noticing stuff is my specialty.”

“Yeah it is. Shooting arrows is also your specialty,” Steve said before continuing is a low tone. “There’s something else,” he added delicately. Something else that had been bugging him since he had seen Bucky and Natasha talking with each other and being so comfortable with each other last night.

“What is it?”

“I think that Buck and Nat might be interested in each other.”

There. _He said it._

Despite Steve’s _shocking_ speculation, which may be true, since he knew Bucky and Natasha, like he knew the palm of his hand; Clint’s face was stoic, almost frozen... The archer was probably using his spy training.

“And why do you think that,” he asked Steve with one raised eyebrow. He had definitely learned that from Natasha, or Natasha might’ve learned from him.

“I just know.”

“No that’s not it, Rogers,” he said with a tone of finality in his voice.

But Steve was nothing if stubborn. “How can you say?”

 _“I just know,”_ Clint replied, throwing back his own words at him.

“Well you’re wrong.”

“I’m done talking to you Rogers. It will be better if you go talk to either one of thembefore you do something stupid and make the situation worse. It might be even more better if you don’t do anything and just sit back”

 _Please, you’ll only make this worse,_ Natasha had told him after the bomb blast in Vienna, when he had been _terrified_ that he had lost her. And he had done _exactly_ what she had told him no to.

Steve didn’t reply.

Now Clint looked angered, and Steve didn’t understand why. He had just stated what he felt was going on between Nat and Buck, which was based on what he saw; wasn’t that one of the teachings from Nat’s Spy-BookTM?

_I know you know this Rogers, but it is always better to make assumptions after taking notes._

Why was Clint upset about his speculation about Nat and Bucky?

“I’ll suggest that you just stop thinking,” the archer warned before stalking off.

 _Like hell_ he was gonna stop thinking _._ He only had the best interests  for Bucky and Natasha in his mind.

Natasha grumbled something about him being pigheaded, in his head;  but Steve ignored her, like he did with Clint. If he wasn't going to listen to a real person, he _definitely_ wasn’t gonna listen to the virtual Natasha who lived in his head. Ha!

 

** \---------- **

****

Later that night, Steve wasn’t able to sleep. He was restless, and was twisting and turning in his bed, trying to find a good position to sleep. He wasn’t able to stop _thinking_.

He was thinking about Bucky and Natasha.

He was thinking about how comfortable they looked with each other, despite having a civil conversation only _once_.

He marveled at how concordant they were with each other.

He was happy.

Happy that Buck and Natasha might be able to go in a direction with each other that Steve thought they were going, if they didn’t _know_ it right now.

He _was_ happy for them.

But why didn’t it _feel_ happy? He wasn’t experiencing the excitement that was associated with being happy. Instead he felt an uncomfortable burning sensation in his chest, and a lump in his throat.

He decided to shake it off _(Thank you Taylor Swift_ ). It was probably nothing. It didn’t matter.

The only thing that mattered right now was that Nat and Buck had something together. Something that could be taken further and explored and could make them happy.

They were both made of the same stuff. They had _shared life experience._

Bucky and Natasha would be good for each other.

Bucky could take care of Natasha, not that she needed it; but still. Natasha was one of the strongest people he knew. And she deserved all the happiness and all the love in the world. Bucky could make her happy, unlike Banner. Steve still didn’t understand why Natasha had even shown an interest in the aloof scientist, but he had supported her, like the good friend he was. Unlike Banner, Bucky wasn’t a quitter. And that was good. Natasha needed someone who wouldn’t give up on her, who wouldn’t make her feel unworthy of love.

And Natasha could be Bucky’s anchor to the present.

They would be good for each other.

And Steve would be happy for them. And he was gonna make damn sure that everything and everyone stayed that way - happy.

Even though they couldn’t see it right now, Steve was gonna push Bucky and Natasha towards each other- they needed that push. He was gonna set them up - with each other. He was gonna be a good friend.

Buck and Nat had both tried to set him up - with varying results, mostly leaning towards unsuccessful.

Buck had set him up with so many girls, Steve couldn’t even remember their names and faces. None of them had ever showed any kind of interest in Steve after meeting him. They didn’t wanna date a ninety pound, five feet four asthmatic person, who couldn’t even dance without tripping or stepping on their shoes.

Thus, Bucky had failed trying to set him up.

Natasha- she had tried to set him up with various women. but Steve hadn’t been ready for it at the time. There had been Lillian with the lip piercing, Kristen from Statistics and many more. Her recommendations had decreased considerably after SHIELD had fallen, but Natasha was sometimes - _most_ of the times irritatingly persistent.

Steve liked that about her. So he humored her, good naturedly.

So basically, both Bucky and Natasha had failed in setting him up.

And then there had been Kate the nurse - who was actually Sharon (the Carter). Technically Natasha hadn’t set her up, but she was the one who had suggested Steve to go after Sharon. After what happened with SHIELD, he had forgotten about her. He had many more pressing matters to attend than pursue a woman who had been spying on him.

So he had been shocked to see her give the eulogy at Peggy’s funeral, as Sharon _Carter_. And then she had helped him, when most people weren’t on his side; when Natasha hadn’t been standing next to him. So he had kissed her, after she had risked her life, job and integrity for him.

But he hadn’t felt _anything_ when he had kissed her. There hadn’t been any _sparks_ between them.

When Peggy had kissed him, he had felt _alive_ , he had felt sparks, he had felt elated.  There were actual fireworks inside him. It had been one of the best moments of his life. Even though the kiss had very brief, it had changed his life. At that moment he had known that he loved Peggy Carter and had wanted to settle down with her.

But he had been frozen in time and Peggy had grown older and moved on and he hadn’t.

Steve still grieved for the life he had lost - he always would; but it was time to move on. And Sharon Carter had seemed like a great person to be with.

But, he hadn’t felt anything special for her. She wasn’t for him.

He had explained talked to her and she had understood him.

Aside from his kiss with Peggy, there had only been one more notable kiss in his life - the one with Natasha. It wasn’t even romantic, it was for the sake of cover. But Steve remembered that moment as the one that had changed his perception of Natasha forever. That kiss had changed his relationship with Natasha. They hadn't been as close before it as they had become after it. He now honestly couldn’t imagine his life without her.

That kiss had changed Steve Rogers. And, in all modesty, Steve thought that the kiss had changed Natasha Romanoff too.

When he had kissed her, he had felt like falling; like jumping down from a height, pulled down by gravity. He had felt like the earth was shifting under his feet and he was going to fall _in_ it. After reflected, such feeling could be explained by the fact that they had been on an escalator. His reaction could've merely been a response to the physical mechanism of the contraption.

That kiss had also been very brief, though Steve still remembered it very vividly. Natasha’s lips had tasted like the strawberry of her chapstick, and sweet from the bubblegum he had seen her chewing and blowing previously.

After that kiss, Steve had been able to look behind the Black Widow's masks, and see _Natasha_. She had _allowed_ him to look - she had given him that trust. And it was a gift, a privilege. Natasha Romanoff trusted Steve Rogers.

And Steve wanted Bucky and Natasha to have what he himself used to have with Peggy. They both deserved to be happy.

With that in mind, Steve decided that we was gonna set them up.

But he had to be discreet. He couldn't let his friends notice him nosing his way in their personal lives because he knew from experience how that felt, and he had hated every moment when Buck and Natasha had tried to set him up.

He was gonna do it anyway because Steve Rogers was an awesome friend.

His mind began formulating plans. He needed to think hard to trick two of the smartest people he knew into dating each other. Two people who knew him very well. Two people whose names were basically forever immortalized in Spy-TalesTM.

It was gonna be fun, if he succeeded. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if he failed, or worse if Bucky and Nat caught him. He still wanted to live thank you very much.

Natasha was suspiciously not saying anything in his brain, but that was probably her way of giving him her approval to set her up with Buck. Steve was kinda missing her wise ass remarks though.

So it was decided. He was setting up Nat and Buck.

He was asleep after a few minutes after coming to his decision.

 

**Author's Note:**

> [THIS](https://latimesherocomplex.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/captain-america-britain-1.jpg/) is what steve and Nat were wearing! Check it out.  
>  As always, comment! Gimme the kudos! :p  
> My tumblr [here.](http://shieldass.tumblr.com/)


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